Which NASA rover recorded the first sounds on Mars in 2021?

NASA’s Perseverance rover recorded the first sounds on Mars in 2021 using microphones carried during its mission.

Perseverance landed in Jezero crater on February 18, 2021. One of its microphones was part of the SuperCam instrument, a laser-based science system designed to study the composition of Martian rocks from a distance. The rover also carried a separate commercial microphone associated with its entry, descent, and landing system.

The recordings captured the faint sound of Martian wind and the rover’s laser striking rocks. Because Mars has a much thinner atmosphere than Earth, sound travels differently there and is quieter, with higher-frequency sounds attenuated more strongly.

The distinction between hearing and recording is useful: earlier missions had measured vibrations and radio signals, but Perseverance produced the first direct audio recordings from Mars. Ingenuity’s flights were documented by Perseverance’s microphone as well.